


Murphy’s law (of love)

by riceballs



Series: how to ask someone to prom [2]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: (kinda) a 5+1 fic, Fluff, High School AU, M/M, Mild Language, Promposal, Promposal AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:34:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25887421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riceballs/pseuds/riceballs
Summary: Murphy’s law states that “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” In Hyunjin’s case, after his first try at asking Seungmin to prom ended with him flying uncomfortably into the basketball court bleachers, this probably was his first sign that he wasn’t going to have any better luck next time.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: how to ask someone to prom [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1878547
Comments: 22
Kudos: 127





	Murphy’s law (of love)

**Author's Note:**

> The sequel to my minsung promposal fic written for skz big bang. You don’t need to read the other version to understand this one, but this one does contain references/spoilers(?) to the minsung version!
> 
> Dedicating this to the corresponding artist on my skz big bang fic, Avi ([@smolsungies](www.twitter.com/smolsungies) on twitter). The [fanart](https://twitter.com/smolsungies/status/1292280619347480577) is so amazing so if you haven't seen it ([or read the corresponding fic yet](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25372708/chapters/61523521)) please check both out! because I’m still in awe that I got such a nice fanart to pair with my fic!
> 
> EDIT: I have just realized that this fic is the get cool mv personified

  
  
  
  
  


Minho once said that if the four 00-liners were a superhero team and Minho some sort of supervillain, the only one he would trust to actually plan his demise would be Seungmin.

“Of course Jisung would be the multi-talented jack of all trades, Hyunjin would probably have a secret superpowered form, while Felix would literally kill me with kindness, but none of that would matter if Seungmin wasn’t there to save all your asses once I managed to see through your stupid plans and defeat you all.” 

At the time, Hyunjin (and Jisung and Felix as well) had been quick to disagree. Hyunjin especially thought that as the oldest, wisest, and overall most responsible of the four, he would be the Tony Stark to their Avengers team, the smart, analytical genius with a side of charisma and a hint of boastful arrogance. Of course Seungmin would contribute a great amount to their success, but Hyunjin without a doubt was sure the plan of heroism would rest solely on Hyunjin’s shoulders, considering how good he was at coming up with strategies and schemes. There was no way that he would be - as Minho had so smugly proclaimed, “probably the first one to get knocked out and spend the rest of the fight on the sidelines weakly cheering the others on.”

Lying in the infirmary bed however, Hyunjin couldn’t help but think that Minho might have been onto something there. 

Fast forward two hours ago, back to a time where Hyunjin still thought highly of his planning skills. It did seem like a brilliant idea, rigging their school’s basketball court scoreboard to ask Seungmin to prom as soon as he managed to score a certain number of points against Hyunjin. Theoretically speaking, it would be Felix and Seungmin against Hyunjin. Their biweekly games usually consisted of those two versus Jisung and himself, but because Jisung had been relegated to the tech booth to work the scoreboard, Hyunjin was alone that day. It was a perfect set up, an already imbalanced game along with Hyunjin’s plan to give Seungmin as many chances to score, which would all lead to a seamless ploy where Seungmin’s team could easily score 5 points, to which Jisung’s wiring would kick in and display a promposal across the scoreboard. Simple and easy. 

Except Hyunjin was currently staring at Seungmin only, Felix nowhere to be seen. 

“Felix had something come up after class, so he left early,” Seungmin shrugged. “I was gonna ask Jeongin if he wanted to be my partner, but it looks like I don’t need to, since I’m not seeing that quokka anywhere?” 

“Uh, yeah, Jisung had something… to do also…” Hyunjin answered hesitantly. Seungmin squinted at him, and Hyunjin was sure his eyes were doing the wavering twitch he had whenever he was trying to lie to Seungmin. “Some recording thing I think, he left pretty early so I couldn’t ask what was up.” 

Seungmin still looked suspicious, but nodded understandingly (typically - mentioning a “recording thing” as an absence excuse for any of 3racha _was_ pretty plausible). 

“Maybe we should just reschedule or something, I mean, it’s not really a game with just us two-”

“ _No_ \- wait!” Hyunjin reached out to stop Seungmin from leaving, surprising the other and himself. Trying to play it off as cool as possible, he continued, “I- I mean, a one on one game isn’t so bad? Besides, when was the last time the two of us hung out together?” It was a lame excuse, but he and Jisung had to bribe Ryujin for her keys to the technician's booth, and there was no telling if she’d help them out another day, meaning today was his only shot. 

Seungmin still didn’t seem convinced, but with a quick look at the door, seemed to come to a quiet agreement that Hyunjin wasn’t entirely crazy. “I texted Jeongin anyway, see if he wants to join us, but I guess it’d be pretty satisfying to beat your ass in basketball one on one.” 

Hyunjin laughed at that, a wave of relief coming over him. On any other given day, he’d probably flame Seungmin’s bold statement, considering how the other - for as tall as he was - was still probably the worst at basketball amongst them four (and possibly their entire friend group - though an argument could be made that Seungmin was still better than Changbin, but Hyunjin didn’t want to entertain that). But given that the plan was for Seungmin to win, Hyunjin figured a little help from himself could easily make Seungmin’s statement come true. 

Except twenty minutes after, Hyunjin was wondering if he had severely underestimated exactly how bad Seungmin was at basketball. For every failed shot and open net that Hyunjin gave Seungmin, there seemed to be twice as many chances for Hyunjin to score. 

_I mean, he can’t be this bad, right?_ Hyunjin thought desperately to himself, as he purposely hit the backboard at the right angle to send the ball straight into Seungmin’s hands. Seungmin seemed just as frustrated as Hyunjin felt about this game. He was trying his best not to score any points so he wouldn’t hit their agreed upon point mark, but Hyunjin was starting to get afraid that Seungmin would pick up on something soon (because even if Hyunjin was Tony Stark, Seungmin was most definitely Pepper Potts of the two - otherwise known as the brains behind Ironman’s ingenuity). 

Finding himself distracted for a moment while wondering if he could inconspicuously signal Jisung to display the message if Seungmin could manage at least _one point_ , Hyunjin found his eyes off of Seungmin for a minute - completely missing as Seungmin fumbled with the basketball and let it slip out of his hands, hurtling straight towards Hyunjin. 

“Hyunjin, watch out-” A moment too late, Hyunjin noticed the basketball rolling ( _Rolling?! It’s not soccer Seungmin!_ he cried internally to himself) towards him as he himself was running towards it. He tried his best to brake, but the worst part about being tall and gangly is in the rush of a moment, it was hard to control his speed at times, so a second later Hyunjin found himself speeding straight into the rolling basketball. 

Now, Hyunjin wouldn’t claim to be the best student in physics, but he was pretty sure Newton’s third law of motion stated when two moving forces met, shit happens, and in Hyunjin’s case, that shit was an impressive tumble over the ball and into the stands - because, if only to add insult to the injury, it wasn’t even happening _on_ the court. 

And that was where Jeongin found the two of them, a sprawled out Hyunjin angled painfully out on the steps of the bleachers, and a hysterically apologizing Seungmin right next to him. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“I mean, it doesn’t look like you broke anything, which is good - probably just feel a little pain for a while…” Most of the student population would say that the real superhero of their school was the nurse, considering she probably saw more injuries from performance majors than any other school saw from their whole population, but Hyunjin was pretty sure Jeongin’s snickering “tripped over a basketball” reason was a first for her ever. 

Besides him, Seungmin was still apologizing. “I swear this is exactly why we shouldn’t have done a one on one at least with Felix he’d be there to stop me from doing stupid shit like this and honestly you guys why can’t we play like baseball or soccer or something that I can’t possibly _kill_ someone in-” 

And despite the theatrics of the whole situation, Hyunjin found himself smiling at Seungmin. Jisung had asked why Hyunjin had been so insistent on such a grand gesture to ask Seungmin out to prom, to which he responded it was the same reason Jisung planned a whole elaborate scavenger hunt for Minho the year before. 

It had been a whole four years of borderline flirting between the two of them, always toeing the line between friends and something more. For the most part, they had an unspoken agreement that their current relationship was enough for the two of them, but with the end of high school coming up, and their tentative plans to room together when they both started university in the fall, those were enough reasons to give Hyunjin a push into that “something more”. 

And what better way would there be to show Seungmin this, than to ask him to prom - arguably the biggest romantic gesture of high school that could possibly be done? Hyunjin knew that Seungmin had a secret longing to be asked to prom, and he was definitely willing to deliver in a way that was befitting of someone as important as Seungmin to him. That meant that even with the first try being a failure, Hyunjin was only going to be thinking up his next way to ask Seungmin to prom out, because, after four years of being beside him, he knew Seungmin only deserved the best. 

_Of course though,_ Hyunjin thought, another shock of pain going through his leg after he shifted slightly on the bed. The wince he made at the feeling only seemed to set Seungmin off even more, as he began to start blaming Jisung for not showing up as well. Jeongin sat beside the two, snickering even more. 

_Phase 2’s probably going to have to wait until I can move again._

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Han-quokka**

Yo 

hyunjin

umm

I Kinda locked myself in the tech room

and ryujins just laughing at me from outside

can ya come let me out…

pls?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


🏀🏀🏀

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“I don’t see why I have to help you after you left me to die in the tech booth,” Jisung grumbled, struggling to fit the large _P_ balloon through the door. “Also, where did you even find these big ass balloons, and will they even fit into Seungmin’s locker? You know he stuffs his locker with like history books he reads for _fun,_ I doubt it’ll have room for five balloons this big.”

“And that’s why I brought you along, cause we’re going to keep the books in your empty locker and put these in his.” Hyunjin swerved as Jisung finally managed to pop the balloon through the door, nearly hitting Hyunjin straight in the face. The balloon hardly had any weight to it, but after the basketball incident, Hyunjin was a bit wary of anything flying at his body, balloons included. “And don’t forget, I sat for an hour in the dancetorium to help _you_ out with Minho, you owe me this.” 

“Okay, first off, you let Minho bribe you with Seungmin _singing_ videos, that’s not considered helping me out since he didn’t even _do_ the task,” They walked down the empty hallways, Hyunjin tersely looking around for signs of Seungmin. Being seniors, most of his fellow peers would usually roll out of bed and into school fifteen minutes after their bell call (Hyunjin and Jisung included), but of all the people Hyunjin could ask to prom, he had to find the one senior in their school who still came to school early, meaning they were there before even the freshman started trickling in. 

“Second, you already failed the first time, what makes you think you’ll succeed now- oh hey! It’s Felix and Jeongin!” Hyunjin’s head whipped up, seeing as the two of them walked down the hallway across them, chatting animatedly. 

“Yo! Lix- _fuck-_ ” Without warning Hyunjin shoved Jisung and the balloons into the stairwell, the door banging shut just as Felix and Jeongin noticed Hyunjin. 

“Hey Hyunjin!” Thankfully not noticing anything wrong with Hyunjin’s awkward smile or hearing Jisung’s muffled yell, Felix smiled brightly at him, shifting the CD player in his arms to wave his greetings. “You’re here early!” 

“Uh, yeah, office, things, need to do, yeah…” _Wow, so eloquent_ , Hyunjin thought to himself, nearly facepalming at how unconvincing he sounded. But miraculously once again, Felix didn’t notice his sputtering, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

“That reminds me!” Felix blurted out, turning towards Jeongin (who - Hyunjin did have to note - seemed to have noticed Hyunjin’s babbling, but also - Hyunjin once again observed - did not seem to care.) “We have to go see Seungmin.”

Jeongin looked back, confused. “We literally just talked to him?” he asked, but Felix was already dragging him back down the hallway, yelling out his goodbyes towards Hyunjin as they disappeared around the corner before Hyunjin could ask Felix about the CD player he had been carrying. 

Waiting a few seconds to see if the coast was completely clear, Hyunjin timidly opened the stairwell door, wincing at the sight of Jisung cross-legged on the ground, pouting angrily up at Hyunjin. 

“You left me here one second longer,” he stared pointedly at Hyunjin. Hyunjin now realized what Minho meant that even the happiest animal in the world could get scary too. “I was gonna start popping these balloons.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  


The stall by Felix and Jeongin turned out to be a complete twist in Hyunjin’s plan, giving them only seven minutes to try and stuff the balloons into his locker. That was only exacerbated by the fact that Hyunjin pushing Jisung into the stairwell had not only tangled the strings of the balloons around Jisungs hands, but also started to deflate the _P_ of his balloon set. That meant at approximately five minutes before the first warning bell would ring and most students would be in the hallway heading for their lockers, Hyunjin was frantically looking for where the air was letting out, Jisung desperately trying to untangle the strings. 

“Damn, we don’t have time for this shit-” Hyunjin cursed, pressing down on the balloon to try and locate the hole. “Jisung, just start stuffing the other balloons in, Seungmin’s lock code is day6’s debut date-”

“You’re telling me that like I know day6’s debut date by memory,” Jisung hissed back, getting the string stuck around his finger. Hyunjin glared at Jisung, eyes flaring with annoyance. 

“You have a phone _look it up_ -”

“Damn it Hyunjin, I only have two hands and they’re both kind of occupied right now!” Trying his teeth to separate the string from its tight wound, Jisung spat out in disgust at the taste. “Why can’t Seungmin be like the rest of us and use his birthday for his lock-”

“You don’t even know when Seungmin’s birthday is!” 

Jisung grumbled but didn’t say anything to that, finally untangling the balloons from his hands. He rushed over to the lockers. 

“Yo, Hyunjin, we’re in luck, Seungmin left his locker unlocked!” Hyunjin whipped his head up in shock.

“Wait what?” True to his word, Jisung was pulling the lock off easily. “Wait, Seungmin _always_ locks his locker at the end of the day, damn it wait- did he already visit his locker this morning shit-“

“ _Whatever_ Hyunjin, don’t worry about it he’ll just see the balloons when he goes to his locker next-” Swinging the locker open, Jisung pulled out a rack of books and pushed the balloons in. He stuffed the books into his backpack just as Hyunjin blew more air into the _P_ and taped up the hole. The two of them crammed the last balloon into the locker, before ramming it shut and locking it back up. Three seconds later, the first bell rang, and the two slid down against the lockers in relief, students looking amusedly at the sweat-drenched duo breathing heavily against the lockers as if they just ran a marathon and a half. 

“Damn, I probably don’t have time to go get my math book from my locker, it’s on the other side of school - don’t feel like running there and back.” Hyunjin sighed, wiping his brow. Jisung hummed next to him. 

“Wish I could help, but I take a different math.” Jisung stood, pulling Hyunjin up with him. Hyunjin shrugged in dejection, but smiled weakly in thanks to Jisung.

“Guess I’ll just beg Seungmin to share again,” he said, swinging his bag over his shoulder as the two started walking leisurely to class. 

“Yo Hyunjin!” Getting a sense of dejavu, Hyunjin looked over just as Felix swung his arm around Hyunjin’s shoulder, smiling just as excited as before. Internally, Hyunjin wondered how Felix could look so happy at 8am in the morning on a Monday, but before he could ask Felix what got him so excited, the realization that Felix took the same math as Hyunjin hit him. 

“Yo, Lix, you got your math book with you?” Felix nodded. “Think I can borrow it? Forgot to hit my locker this morning, so I couldn’t grab my own.”

“Yeah sure no problem,” Felix opened his messenger bag and started to pull it out. He suddenly froze. “Wait. You didn’t go to your locker?”

Hyunjin nodded no. Felix’s smile dropped.

“Why?” Now it was Hyunjin’s turn to look confusedly over. Before he could say anything, Jisung opened his mouth. 

“Because lover boy over here decided to stupidly buy five big ass balloons and stuff them- _mmph!_ ” Hyunjin sent a silent apology for suddenly cutting Jisung off with his hand, but there was a reason why he had asked Jisung to help him with his promposal and not Felix. As much as he knew Felix would love to help, the other was notoriously bad at keeping secrets, which was even worse when it came to Seungmin. Felix and Seungmin told each other _everything_ , and as cute as Hyunjin found the best friends at times, this was one thing that he would hate for Felix to share. 

Miraculously enough however, Felix didn’t seem to see how awkward Hyunjin was acting at the moment, his eyes going through more emotions than Hyunjin knew was possible. “Uh- I- I got to go-” he blurted out, turning 180 and racing down the hallway once again. 

Hyunjin watched dazedly, confused at Felix’s actions, only brought out of his stupor at the feeling of something wet against his hand. 

“Fuck- Jisung-” 

“You deserve it,” Jisung growled, rubbing his lips vigorously. “ _I’m_ going to head off to class before you subject me to anymore of your evilness.” With that, he started down the hallway.

Hyunjin chuckled. “You know you love me!” He called out. Jisung merely flipped him off.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Seungmin wasn’t in the classroom when Hyunjin entered, which was a good sign. Jisung was right in that Seungmin would find the balloons regardless of when he visited his locker, but a part of Hyunjin really wanted to get Seungmin before first period - if only because math was the only class they shared that day and Hyunjin wanted to witness Seungmin’s initial reaction to his promposal if possible. 

He was on his phone, spamming heart emojis to Jisung when he heard Seungmin’s low greeting at the door and looked up, eyes full of expectation. 

There were no balloons in sight. 

Swallowing back his disappointment, Hyunjin forced the smile back onto his face. _He’ll see them eventually_ , Hyunjin told himself as he greeted Seungmin back. 

Seungmin sat down next to Hyunjin, still staring with bright eyes and a wide smile for a moment more. They sat in silence, and after a beat, Seungmin’s face fell. 

Biting his lip at the drop in expression, Hyunjin asked timidly, “Umm, is something wrong Seungmin?” Seungmin blinked out of his daze, before shaking his head no, yet still sitting in his seat, looking morosely down at the desk. The tenseness between them unnerved Hyunjin even more. 

“Hey, Seungmin!” Blinking, Hyunjin looked up as Jisu bounded up to their desks. “Do you have the catering list for the senior breakfast?” 

“Hmm, oh, yeah.” Seungmin hummed distractedly as an answer, reaching into his bag and pulling a folder out. “Good thing I saw Yeji this morning, I was just about to leave my locker when she reminded me to bring it to you.” 

Hyunjin choked. _Wait, Seungmin went to his locker this morning?_ His mind began racing a million miles a minute, eyes darting between Seungmin and Jisu. _Did he go before I got there? Or did he somehow not see the balloons, or maybe he didn’t see my note and thought someone else was asking him or maybe he’s trying to play it off so he can reject me-_

“Oh wait, did you see Yeji get asked out to prom then? Chaeryeong was telling me about the whole spectacle it caused in the hallway.” Seungmin cracked a small smile, snorting. 

“Oh yeah, it was hilarious honestly.” he said, shaking his head in disbelief. Turning to Hyunjin, he continued. “So like, this morning when I was getting my books, Yeji was also at her locker, and- get this. Some idiot tried promposing to Yeji by stealing her textbooks and stuffing her locker with these giant balloons instead, except I think the _P_ was losing air because it popped right in her face so she’s _pissed-_ ”

Hyunjin hardly heard a word, dumbfounded instead that _there’s literally someone else in school who had essentially the same plan as mine-_

_Wait._

And at that moment, Hyunjin realized with horror that Jisung had messed up, and had put the balloons not into Seungmin’s locker, but instead into the locker right _next_ to Seungmin’s, belonging to one-

“Hwang. Hyun. Jin.” Hyunjin looked up to see Hwang Yeji storming into his classroom, one eyebrow raised in what Hyunjin knew as her “we need to talk” expression, a look that Hyunjin had the unfortunate displeasure of being on the receiving end one too many times.

With one last dispirited look at Seungmin - who wasn’t even looking up, instead typing furiously into his phone - Hyunjin timidly followed Yeji out, mentally preparing himself for the scolding of his life. 

As soon as they left the classroom, Yeji about-faced Hyunjin, arms crossed in disdain. 

“Hwang, Hyun. Jin.” she started again. Hyunjin lowered his head in shame. “I know you’re somewhat a loser, but asking your _cousin_ to prom? Are you _really_ that desperate for a date? Also, where are my textbooks?”

“Jisung has them,” Yeji scoffed, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like _of course this was a Jisung-Hyunjin scheme_ under her breath. Before Hyunjin could explain further, Jeongin came barreling down the hallway, face red with exasperation.

“Hwang- Hyunjin you-” Jeongin stopped right in front of the two Hwangs, staring at Hyunjin angrily for a moment, before deciding against whatever it was he was going to say. The two of them watched with bewilderment as Jeongin stormed into the classroom instead. 

“What’s up with him?” Yeji asked, blinking bemusedly. Hyunjin shrugged, before turning his attention back to the issue at hand.

“Look, Yeji, it was all a mistake, I didn’t mean to put them in your locker-” 

“I’m playing with you Hyunjin, I know you meant to ask Seungmin instead,” Yeji broke out into small laughter, her sharp eyes crinkling up jokingly. She handed Hyunjin a letter back to him. “Really poetic by the way, I didn’t know you had it in you to be that romantic.” 

“Shut up,” Hyunjin grumbled, snatching the letter back. Yeji let out another laugh. 

“Oh, also, I’m stealing these balloons. Gonna use them for my own promprosal, except, of course, I’ll make sure it goes to the right person.” Hyunjin rolled his eyes, and Yeji giggled once more, whipping her phone out. “Now I have to go find my textbooks because some idiot decided to steal them from my locker-”

“Hyunjin, Hyunjin, code red _code red!_ ” For what seemed like the millionth time just that morning, Hyunjin heard his name called out again, watching as Jisung speed raced down the hallway, eyes wide in panic. 

“We put the balloons into the wrong locker, _we put them into Yeji’s instead_ \- oh. Um. Hey, Yeji.” He skidded to a stop in front of the two, looking between the two of them, perplexed. “Umm... I guess you already know that, huh.” 

Yeji snickered. “You think?” Grabbing her textbooks from Jisung’s hands, she waved them both off, walking down the hallway. Hyunjin watched her go despondently. “Better luck next time Hyunjin!”

  
  
  
  
  


🎈🎈🎈

  
  
  
  
  
  


_Okay, so maybe the first two plans didn’t exactly work out._ Hyunjin thought to himself, wiping his brow and pushing the lawnmower slightly forward. _But third time’s definitely the charm, this is such a great idea and it’s going to go amazingly-_

“Hyunjin, can you mow _straight_ so I don’t have to respray paint that area?” He glared over at Jisung, who only narrowed his eyes back. “Stop giving me that look, this is your stupid promposal we’re preparing, it’s your fault I’m here slaving away and not at home facetiming my precious Minho right now-”

“Can I just remind you that it’s actually _your fault_ that we even have to do this since _someone_ put the balloons in the _wrong fucking locker-_ ”

“Hey boys, how’s it going? Do you guys need something, drinks, a snack…?” Almost immediately, both Hyunjin and Jisung stood up straight and gave their best smiles to Seungmin’s mother, who had stepped out of the house with a bright grin on her face. 

“We’re great, thank you!” they said simultaneously. Happy with their answer, Seungmin’s mother made to head back in, giving a quick look to the work that the two had started with.

“Oh, I am so excited! This is going to be such a nice surprise for Seungmin tomorrow morning,” she clapped her hands gleefully, eyes dancing with happiness. “Let me know when you guys are close to finished, I want a picture before it gets too dark!” 

“Will do!” The synchronization of their responses was scaring Hyunjin slightly, but that seemed to be a default reaction most of them had towards Seungmin’s parents - who, as friendly and loving as they were towards Seungmin and his friends - still gave off such a regal vibe that Hyunjin sometimes felt he needed to be speaking formally and bowing every time he saw either of Seungmin’s parents. 

The two of them waited until she turned the corner back to the front of Seungmin’s house, before they returned to glaring at each other. 

“Well, she might only get to see the letter ‘P’ if you don’t hurry your ass and finish-”

“Why don’t you try getting over here and mowing the lawn perfectly into the shape of an ‘R’ if you think you can do it better-”

“Why you little-”

“Okay! ‘R’ is done!” Cutting Jisung off, Hyunjin turned the lawnmower off and smiled triumphantly. It did come out slightly crooked, but in general readable - which, at this point in time, was his bare minimum he needed to accomplish. 

Jisung looked at the two letters appraisingly. “Not bad I guess, at least it looks like an ‘R’ and not just some weirdly shaped blob on grass like your ‘P’ over there- _Ouch_ really man, really?” Hyunjin elbowed him again, knocking Jisung over a few steps. 

“Well, at least we have two letters down. Only two more and a question mark to go!” He frowned, looking down at his spray can bottle. “I’m out of spray paint though.”

“I texted Yeji, she’s bringing more over,” Hyunjin said distractedly, dragging the lawnmower over a few steps and eyeballing his path for the ‘O’. 

Jisung nodded, plopping himself down, watching as Hyunjin began arranging the lawnmower at an angle to begin again. “I have to say,” he started. “Can’t believe that Seungmin’s parents were cool with you doing this to their lawn.” 

Hyunjin shrugged. “Technically, only Seungmin’s mom knows. She was pretty hyped up I think, kept cooing over the whole idea and stuff.” 

He looked up at Seungmin’s window, which Hyunjin knew had a clear view of his house’s side yard. Spray painting Seungmin’s lawn and mowing it down to say the word ‘PROM?’ had actually been one of Hyunjin’s first ideas, even before his brilliant turned deadly basketball game, but he had put it on the backburner, not wanting to ask Seungmin’s parents for permission to practically demolish their clean cut lawn. Surprisingly however, when Hyunjin had gone over to ask after the balloon fiasco, Seungmin’s mother had been all for it, practically jumping with delight. 

“Apparently she’s been waiting for this moment since we were freshman, the first time I came over for dinner. Kept going on about how she and my mom have been betting on who would ask who out to prom.” Hyunjin started the lawn mower, creating a half circle shape before stopping to appraise his work. “Was super weird to hear about honestly, especially since my mom apparently betted on Seungmin.”

Jisung tilted his head, clicking his tongue in contemplation. “Kind of looks a bit too small compared to the ‘P’ and ‘R’,” he said, holding his fingers out in mock picture form. Hyunjin rolled his eyes. “Also, they're not the only ones, pretty sure everyone who knows you two has some sort of bet going on about when you guys would get together. I also had my money on Seungmin asking _you_ out by the way, so me helping you out is going to lose me a good 50 dollars, thanks for that.” 

Hyunjin scoffed. “Please, that’s only valid if Seungmin doesn’t think I’m a loser for doing this and says no- _Hey!_ ” The spray can cap bounced off his head, Hyunjin rubbing at the spot angrily. 

“Listen, we are not doing this self-deprecating shit, that’s only for me to do when Minho doesn’t call me for 48 hours.” Jisung said, his hand on his hips disapprovingly. “You’re going to ask Seungmin to prom, he’s going to definitely say yes, and the two of you are going to go wearing matching tuxes and ties that won’t be anywhere as nice as mine and Minho’s were but will still put the monstrosity that Changbin showed up in to shame.”

Hyunjin chuckled, remembering the pictures of Changbin last year and the subsequent teasing they had all subjected him too. The unsettling feeling he had didn’t go away however. 

“Yeah but… do you think that two failed attempts mean that this is the universe saying we shouldn't go together-“

“Third time’s always the charm Hyunjin,” a new voice chimed in. The two looked up to see Yeji walk up. She tossed a new spray can over to Jisung, just barely missing his face. “For once, I agree with the idiot over there-”

“ _Hey!_ ”

“- all the stars aligned perfectly just so you and Seungmin could be at JYP High at the same time, in the same grade, for this exact reason. Like, there is no other reasonable explanation of why mankind was put on this earth to suffer except to make sure the two of you go together.”

“Wow okay there edge queen,” Jisung muttered. Yeji ignored him.

“What I'm trying to say is, you should spend more time making your letters even, rather than worrying about what Seungmin would say. Honestly, if you just texted him ‘prom or nah’ he’d still go with you, that’s how far gone the two of you are for each other. You guys are like, one of the most disgustingly romantic couples in our grade, which is a feat considering you guys aren’t even a couple.”

“Though Hyunjin really _really_ wants to be,” Jisung adds in jokingly, ducking his head as Hyunjin sent the spray can lid back his way. 

“You guys might want to hurry it up though. It’s getting late. Not to mention, I saw Seungmin and Changbin at the craft store buying cardboard and paint when I was getting your spray paint. They were saying something about coming back here to make some arts thing, didn't stick around to listen.” 

“Wait, what?” Hyunjin looked at his phone clock in alarm. “Weren’t they supposed to be at the movie theater with Felix and then grab dinner or something?” Hyunjin had been invited to the hangout, but declined when he realized Seungmin being out would be the perfect chance for him to enact his lawn decoration plan - with the hope to finish it right as Seungmin finished dinner with Felix and Changbin and came home. 

Jisung shrugged, picking up the spray can and vigorously shaking it. “Seungmin probably forgot he was supposed to make posters for some school event or something last minute, and dragged Changbin to pick up supplies.” He sprayed some of the color onto the lawn, coughing as a few fumes caught in the wind and rose up to his face. “I swear, you guys better get together after all this shit you’re making me go through.” 

Yeji chuckled, grabbing the broom lying on the grass and starting to sweep the sprayed grass clippings off the lawn. “You and half of the grade are waiting for that, Jisung. Hell, I think Jisu is trying to get a coalition going to vote the two of you prom couple of the night.”

Hyunjin blushed at Yeji’s statement, but inside he was reeling with glee at the thought. An image of him slow dancing with Seungmin came to mind, and all he could see was Seungmin’s twinkling eyes and brilliant smile staring back at him, the feeling of his soft arms around his as they swayed to the music, no one else in the room beside them. 

With newfound motivation, he picked up the lawnmower again, eyeballing the grass in front of him with the shape of an ‘M’ in mind. 

_Third time’s a charm, this is going to go amazingly-_

  
  
  
  
  


  
  


The next morning, if his mother was surprised to see Hyunjin up before noon on a Saturday, she didn’t show it, instead handing him breakfast with a knowing smile on her face. 

After scarfing it down at lightning speed, Hyunjin raced up to his room to pack a day bag, nervous energy practically radiating off of him. Changbin, Seungmin and Chan were supposed to be at his place soon, as their friend group was all going to hang out that day, a first in a while. That itself would have been exciting enough for Hyunjin on any other day, except there was now the added excitement of Seungmin’s response to the surprise Hyunjin had left for him the previous night. 

A car honk and his mom’s subsequent call that his friends arrived brought Hyunjin’s attention to his window, where Changbin’s car was parked. They had all teased Changbin for buying what was the epitome of a rich boy car, the open top red convertible seen in every cheesy road trip movie that had no actual real life functionality, but for once, Hyunjin was more than happy for Changbin’s choice, if only because the sight of a bright eyed, wide grin Seungmin waving to him was more than enough to boost Hyunjin’s serotonin levels for a whole week. Seungmin was usually always smiling, deemed as their group's moodmaker just from his sparking smile alone, but Hyunjin felt an extra burst of glowing radiance from him that day, and his heart leapt at what it could mean. 

Rushing down, he stepped out of his house and bounded for Changbin’s car, elation at what Seungmin’s reaction would be. What greeted him instead was the three of them looking at Changbin’s back hood. Gone was the happiness from Seungmin’s face, instead a look of frustrated concern that all three of them shared. 

“When did they fall off-”

“What fell off?” Jumping back, the three fell into their seats guilty as Hyunjin swung open the door and slid in next to Seungmin. He took a peek curiously. “Did something happen?” 

“Yeah, on the back of the car there was-” Seungmin smacked the back of Changbin’s head, a dangerous look in his eyes. Hyunjin blinked at the both of them. 

“W-was a new… paint job… but it got ruined… in… the wind…” Changbin trailed off. Chan muttered something that sounded suspiciously like _that’s really the best you could come up with_ under his breath.

“Really?” Hyunjin looked suspiciously at the car. “It looks exactly the same.” 

“Yeah, it's a shade of red darker.” Hyunjin tsk-ed knowingly. 

“Still ugly as fuck.” 

“Excuse you Hyunjin-”

“Okay! Well!” Chan cleared his throat, silencing them both. “Let’s get going, Jeongin and Felix are at the park already and we still need to go get Jisung.” Sending one last look to Seungmin, he motioned for Changbin to start the car. 

With the distraction of arguing with Changbin, Hyunjin almost forgot about his earlier excitement. Cursing himself for getting sidetracked, he turned towards Seungmin in the back seat, brimming with joy. 

His question of what Seungmin thought died on his lips however, with how Seungmin was disheartenedly avoiding his gaze. Hyunjin’s heart dropped. Did he misread Seungmin’s happiness earlier, blinded by his own burst of euphoria to notice that maybe Seungmin _wasn’t_ as ecstatic as Hyunjin originally saw him to be? Maybe Jisung and Yeji had hyped him up a little too much last night, and his previous worries about Seungmin’s true feelings were actually true. 

Timidly, he changed his question in his mind, and tentatively asked instead, “Did… did you mom… say anything this morning? About… about your lawn or something?” Thinking about it, Hyunjin realized he never did get the expected text from Seungmin’s mom, who had promised to let Hyunjin know when Seungmin saw the message on their lawn in the morning. 

Seungmin looked up, confusion replacing his downcast look from before. “Huh? What… what do you mean…- oh! Funny you mention our lawn actually, this morning she was like, yelling at my dad about it. It was kind of weird, she’s been telling him to mow the lawn for days now but the one morning he actually does it he gets in trouble for it- um- Hyunjin? Why… why are you hitting your head against the headrest-”

  
  
  
  
  


🍀🍀🍀

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“So, what you need to do now is knead the dough until it’s soft and gooey as fuck, just like your whipped heart is for Seungmin.” 

Hyunjin scoffed, making a motion to end the facetime call he had with Minho. “You know, I could totally just hang up and follow the instructions myself,” he said. “I don’t _actually_ need your help to make donuts, especially considering you’re not even here to help _in person_.”

“Well you still need someone to supervise, considering the last time you were in a kitchen to do something besides eat, you destroyed Changbin’s kitchen.” Minho laughed as Hyunjin flipped him off. 

“Besides, I feel left out, Jisung’s been a part of your schemes up until now, I want to join into the fun as well! And who knows, maybe you just needed a new helper, considering the last three times with Jisung have been complete failures.” He paused, holding his phone closer to his face to squint at Hyunjin’s work. “Okay, that looks good. Portion your dough out for each of the letters and the question mark. That’s going to be a total of _five_ portions, in case you didn’t know.” 

Hyunjin rolled his eyes, but did as Minho said. 

“I still can’t believe you went flying into the bleachers, I would have paid good money to see that-”

“Minho I’m seriously about to hang up on your right now-”

“And all that work you put into the lawn only for Seungmin’s dad to mow _over_ it, he’s seriously my new hero Mr. Kim-” 

“Minho!” Hyunjin growled. “Okay, what should I do next?”

“Well obviously you need to shape them into your letters? Start with the O, since that’s the traditional donut shape, we need to make sure you can actually do that or else you’re screwed again.” He chuckled again. “Seriously though, why did you choose to make _donuts_ of all things?” 

Hyunjin sighed, grabbing one section and rolling it out into a long shape. “I’m kind of running out of ideas, saw this on pinterest and thought it’d be a simple but neat idea.”

“You could have special ordered it at ‘Nayeon’s’ or something.” 

“Can't risk it, Seungmin works there. Besides, I’m pretty sure Nayeon hates me after what went down sophomore year, she’d probably ruin the whole thing just to spite me.” 

“What can I say, that cheesecake incident was something, was it not.”

“Yeah, but she still loves Jisung!” 

“Jisung is literally half her income.” Laughing at that, Hyunjin returned to his donut making, completing the O shape and holding it up for Minho to see, who nodded approvingly. 

“Wow though, love really can change a man. Never thought the day would come where Hyunjin would be in the kitchen actually trying to make something edible.” Minho shook his head in mock disbelief. “Was this how it was last year with Jisung? ‘Cause watching you work so hard is really making me appreciate how much Jisung must have done to pull off his big ass promposal last year.” 

Hyunjin snorted. “Nah Minho, I’m not even putting in half the work that Jisung did, he literally had a whole twelve-step plan prepared for all of us. Don't tell Jisung this, but his promposal idea was some next level shit. My donuts won’t even compare.” Minho laughed at that. The camera shifted slightly, where Hyunjin could see Minho looking at a picture of him and Jisung on the table beside him. He smiled at that. When Minho had first left for New York, a lot of their friend group were worried at what the long-distance would mean for Jisung and Minho’s relationship, but it was almost a year since Minho went, and they were still going as strong as ever, with Jisung planning to visit right before he started university in the fall. 

Hyunjin frowned slightly, as the thought of university came to mind, remembering a question he had wanted to ask Minho.

“Hey, Minho?” Minho hummed in acknowledgment. “Are you… are you upset Jisung didn’t choose the school in New York?”

Minho paused for a moment, before shaking his head no. “Nah, I mean, we managed this long-distance thing for a year already. Jisung needs to choose a school that best fits him, not one that best fits our relationship. I mean yeah, it would be nice if he chose New York, so we could be closer, but we both also know that that’s not what’s best for Jisung, both academically and personally. Minho blinked, eyebrows furrowing. “But what’s up with the question anyway? I mean, you and Seungmin are both going to JYPU. Hell, aren’t you guys rooming together too? I don’t think you need to worry about long-distance or anything.”

“That's not what I'm worried about. It's just… do you think me and Seungmin will ever be anything like you and Jisung?”

“Obviously not, none of you guys will ever be in a relationship even half as awesome as me and Jisung.”

Hyunjin snorted, but the word “relationship” made his heart leap uncomfortably. Minho - ever so observant - picked up on Hyunjin’s hesitancy. 

“What’s really bothering you Hwang?”

Hyunjin paused in his donut making, looking contemplatively at the dough in his hands. “It’s just… you and Jisung were able to adapt so well to the big change in your relationship, what with you moving so far away, and even now, you guys are still going so strong. I can’t help but think that me and Seungmin, well, we won’t be the same as you guys. What if I’ve been reading the signs wrong all this time, and Seungmin is more comfortable with how we are right now, and me asking him out will just make our relationship awkward? This whole time, I keep thinking that maybe all those failed promposal plans are just the universe telling me that we aren’t actually meant to be together - that all these years I’ve been picking up the wrong signals from Seungmin and he just sees me as a friend.”

“Okay, I’m gonna stop you right there,” Minho cut in. “First off, literally everyone can see how into you Seungmin is and vice versa. There’s a reason why we all call you guys the “couple who isn’t a couple”, because it’s literally mind-boggling that you guys _still_ haven’t gotten together even after like- four years of being a disgustingly cute couple.”

“Yeah, but maybe I’m reading it all wrong-”

“You definitely aren’t. Take it from someone who spent a good year pining over Jisung before we got our shit together and went for it. Honestly, you don't know how annoying it is to see the two of you, who desperately want to be something more to the other but don't know how to say it. That's why, despite how much it hurts my tsundere heart to say it, I really really want this promposal to work out, Hyunjin. Because the two of you deserve a happy ending to your slow burn friends to lover fic.” 

Hyunjin didn’t say anything, still staring gloomy down at his dough. Minho sighed, shifting his phone to look at Hyunjin straight. 

“Besides, I really think your donut plan will work out for sure.” 

“Huh? What do you mean by that?” 

“Well first off, besides the basketball idea - which was a complete fluke anyway considering you needed Seungmin to score _five_ points when I don’t think he’s scored that many collectively in all the times I’ve seen him play - you weren’t there when Seungmin was supposed to see your message. Like, you just left the prom balloons in his locker, and was going to wait for Seungmin to come over after seeing your lawn message. That’s your first problem, since there is a lot that can go wrong when you’re not there to oversee it all the way through. You need to be more direct with asking Seungmin out, make sure he understands exactly what you want.”

Hyunjin frowned. What Minho said did make sense.

“Second, you had _Jisung_ help you out, which - as much as I love you guys, is a disaster waiting to happen. It’s like the two of you guys are smart people on your own, but together have a total of four brain cells that you just use against each other.”

So that's why for _this_ plan, you’ll be there giving Seungmin the donuts yourself, so he can see the message with you there. And Jisung doesn't know about this plan at all, so there’s no way the sheer idiocy of the two of you combined can ruin this plan.” 

Hyunjin rolled his eyes - but once again, silently admitted the truth in Minho’s words. Minho, who was always the best at reading the unspoken words, smiled smugly at that. 

“So all you need to do is make your damn donuts, put them in a pretty looking box and give them to Seungmin, and pray that they don’t kill him before he can say yes to you.” Hyunjin scoffed, glaring at Minho over the phone. 

“Okay, listen, I may not be the _best_ at cooking, but like, I _can_ follow a recipe at least.” 

“I don’t know Hyunjin, I honestly don’t trust any of the four of you guys in the kitchen.” He chuckled quietly. “Well to be fair, you _have_ improved since the last kitchen fiasco. Imagine if it was _Seungmin_ who was making donuts to ask you to prom instead, that would be a bigger disaster than anything else…” 

  
  
  
  
  
  


Once, Hyunjin had heard their math teacher comment that without Choi Jisu and Kim Seungmin, the current graduating class would probably not have made it past the first week of senior year without all hell breaking loose. It was - and still is to this day - perhaps one of the most accurate descriptions of Jisu and Seungmin’s positions in their grade that Hyunjin had ever heard. 

The duo had single-handedly spearheaded all of the senior graduating events, from their three day, two-night class retreat featuring indoor skiing, mile-long scavenger hunts and a 24/7 buffet, to their infamous senior prank that resulted in ten runaway chickens and the principal’s car doused in ketchup. Most of their grade was in agreement that without the two, their senior year wouldn’t have been half as fun as it was. 

The one downside of having a best friend that was so prevalent in school activities however, was the fact that Hyunjin (and Jisung and Felix as well), were often roped into planning committees whether they wanted to or not. Seungmin did have a very threatening presence in their lives, Hyunjin was starting to realize as he walked into the classroom at 7:30 in the morning, almost an hour before school even started. 

Usually, the early morning meetings were the bane of Hyunjin’s existence. Despite being only twice a week, Hyunjin hated getting up early at all, only to listen to Seungmin and Jisung argue over having 3racha be the main performers at their prom (Currently, Seungmin was winning that argument, though the fact that Chan and Changbin themselves didn’t want to perform probably helped his cause the most). However, this particular morning, Hyunjin was more excited than anything, practically skipping to the meeting room with joy, his box of donuts for Seungmin in hand. 

_Minho did have a point,_ Hyunjin realized, as he stepped in to see Seungmin sitting alone, headphones in and unaware of Hyunjin’s presence. The best way to ensure Seungmin saw his promposal would be to give it himself or risk failing again. 

“Hey Seungmin!” Taking the seat next to Seungmin, Hyunjin slid the box of donuts in front of the other. “Present for you!” (He could practically see Minho facepalming at his awkward introduction, and grimaced internally.)

Seungmin looked bemusedly at the box, and then up at Hyunjin. “Who are you and what did you do with Hyunjin.” he joked, picking the box up and shaking it a bit. “Since when does Hwang Hyunjin buy me…” he opened the box, and Hyunjin felt his heartbeat speed up. This was it, the moment Hyunjin had been waiting for since their first meeting back in freshman year- 

“Weirdly shaped… donuts?” Hyunjin blinked. 

“Wait, what?” He peered over at the box, realizing at that exact moment that _perhaps I should have gotten a smaller box, and not one big enough that a tiny shake would make it spell out RWԀO._

“Oh, umm actually-” Trying his best to keep his cool, he reaches over to try and fix the letters, his trembling hands almost making him drop the box. “Actually these are letters and-”

“My two least favorite people in the world, wassup-” Both Seungmin and Hyunjin jolted as Jisung made his presence known, practically springing into the room with a dangerously close to spilling coffee in his hand. “Seungmin, I have your list of 325 reasons _why_ 3racha _should_ be the opening act at prom and I got Changbin on board- oh hey, Hyunjin brought donuts, you’re the best man-”

Maybe Minho had been right that Jisung not knowing about Hyunjin’s donut plan would be a good thing. Last night, it made a lot of sense, because if Hyunjin and Jisung together was chaos personified, Hyunjin and Jisung together in the kitchen was a horror story waiting to happen. But as Hyunjin watched Jisung grab a donut with dismay (The ‘P’ - which was probably the most important letter in the box and subsequently the worst letter for Jisung to take), he couldn’t help but think how ironic it was that the one promposal plan Jisung didn’t know about would turn out to be the only time he desperately needed the other to be aware. But at the end of it all, all Hyunjin could do was watch as Jisung grabbed the donut and popped it into his mouth for him to realize that the universe was legitimately messing with him at this point. 

Seungmin squinted at Jisung but didn’t say anything about Jisung stealing a donut, only adding insult to Hyunjin’s injury. “You didn’t get Changbin to agree, I asked him again yesterday and his answer was still no.” 

“That just means you asked him, which means you want us to perform!” Jisung jumped up triumphantly. 

Seungmin rolled his eyes. Turning back to Hyunjin, he continued: “Sorry, I didn’t catch what you were saying about the donuts?”

“Umm…” Hyunjin didn’t even know what to say anymore, looking despondently at the _RWO_ still in the donut box. “Just… that I made them, that’s all.” 

“Oh, no wonder they taste so dry,” Jisung chimed in, stuffing the rest of the ‘P’ into his mouth, looking confusedly over at Hyunjin’s sharp gaze of anger directed at him. _What?_ He mouthed, mouth still full of donut. Hyunjin merely glared more furiously, telepathically sending his rage to Jisung. 

“Well… while we’re trading homemade treats…” Seungmin, who seemed unaware of the mental murder of Jisung happening next to him, pulled a small bag out of his backpack and grinning brightly as if he didn’t just rip Hyunjin’s heart to a million pieces. 

“Felix and I made cookies yesterday! Here’s a bag for you Hyunjin,” He placed the bag in front of Hyunjin. “Sorry Jisung, people who argue with me over the music for prom don’t get any.” 

Jisung’s mouth dropped open in shock, but Hyunjin didn’t even find it in himself to feel happy at Seungmin’s retort, instead opening the bag sadly, barely registering as Seungmin continued: 

“Also, so it’s kind of cool because we made them like puzzle pieces so you can do a puzzle before eating them- oh-” Hyunjin popped one of them into his mouth, pouting as he chewed it slowly. 

“Oh… it’s good…” he said distractedly, the remaining donuts staring mockingly back at him. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Seungmin frozen, with a tight smile that didn’t fill the rest of his face. Panicking, he quickly added: “N-no I do mean it, th-they taste good I was just a little w-worried about how my donuts came out-” 

“No, that’s fine, I… I’m glad you like them.” Still with the fake smile plastered on, Seungmin slumped down into his seat, taking one of the donuts. Hyunjin couldn’t help but feel that he messed up more than just his donut plan. Taking another cookie from the bag and munching on it sadly, he thought back to what Minho had said earlier, about needing to be more direct. 

_I should just ask him, get it over with right now,_ Hyunjin thought to himself. But seeing Seungmin’s sudden despondent mood coupled with his own slight despair didn't make the moment feel right.

_But then, when will that moment be?_ Because just in the past week, he’s already failed four times. Every single promposal he had created had ended in disaster, and now Hyunjin was out of ideas. 

He took another peek in Seungmin’s direction, hating the forlorn look on Seungmin’s face. 

“Do you…” he started hesitantly. Seungmin lifted his head to look in Hyunjin’s direction. “Do you have time after your work shift today?” Seungmin nodded slowly. 

“Let’s… I’ll go to ‘Nayeon’s’ and meet you afterwards, we can get smoothies together and just… just talk or something. I… I have something I need to ask you.” 

Seungmin blinked, confusion in his eyes, but nodded again, They both fell back into their seats as Jisu walked in, already rambling about color palettes and themes of some sort. Hyunjin heard none of it, instead letting his mind wander into a daydream of prom itself - the same image of dancing with Seungmin coming back into his mind. 

Though the failure of each promposal only hurt his confidence in asking Seungmin out more and more, the idea of not going with Seungmin at all scared him even more. Even if Hyunjin had to ask Seungmin a thousand times, it would be worth it in his mind… 

_Because,_ he glanced to his right. Seungmin seemed to be in a similar daze, mindlessly nodding along with Jisu’s chatter, but Hyunjin was still mesmerized, feeling a soft smile bloom on his face as he traced Seungmin’s profile with his eyes, his heart starting to beat faster as the fantasy of prom grew more vivid in his mind. 

_He’s definitely worth it._

  
  
  
  
  
  


🍩🍩🍩

  
  
  
  
  
  


The cool breeze of ‘Nayeon’s Sweets Shop’ aircon greeted Hyunjin when he pushed the door open, a wave of relief from the hot weather outside. It did nothing to calm his rising nerves however, the donut fiasco from that morning still fresh on his mind, with the growing realization that Hyunjin was running out of ideas fast. 

“Welcome to Nayeon’s- oh, hey Hyunjin.” It always amused Hyunjin how quickly Seungmin could switch from a customer service voice to the usual deadpan expression they all knew of Seungmin. “I’m almost done, just order what you want from Nayeon, I already told her my drink.” 

Nodding, Hyunjin shuffled over to Nayeon at the counter, who waved when she saw him. 

“Hey Hyunjin!” she greeted him, before calling out, “Iced Americano for Dowoon!” Hyunjin watched as she handed it over, the black cursive ‘Dowoon’ written on the side catching his eyes. He blinked, as a lightbulb went off in his head. 

“Hey, Nayeon,” she hummed in acknowledgment, busying herself at the counter. “Did you make Seungmin’s hot chocolate yet?”

Nayeon paused. “No, I was gonna do both of yours at the same time when you ordered, why?”

“Give me the cup you were going to use for the drink.” Confused, Nayeon handed over a paper cup. Hyunjin grabbed a pen from the counter, scribbling on the side before handing both back to Nayeon, who looked at it curiously. She gasped softly. 

“Did you just write ‘Will you go to prom-’”

“Shhh!” Hyunjin hissed, eyes darting over to Seungmin, who was thankfully far from the counter sweeping. Lowering his voice, he continued, “Look, I’ve been trying to ask him to prom for this past week but every single time so far has failed miserably. I’m out of ideas and it’s getting dangerously close to prom week, but this has gotta be the most direct way to get him to see my promposal honestly.” he sighed, slumping down on the counter, sulking. “If he doesn’t see this, then I guess that’s just the universe telling me we weren’t meant to be.”

Nayeon watched him, amused. “I really doubt that honestly, maybe this is the universe saying you should just wait-”

“Hyunjin, stop dirtying the counter, I just cleaned there,” Hyunjin jolted up in fright as Seungmin appeared at the counter. He noticed Seungmin glaring at Nayeon, who merely raised her eyebrows. “What are you guys doing, anyways?”

“Nothing!” Hyunjin was quick to add. “I-I’ll have a mango smoothie please Nayeon!” he fumbled with his wallet, pulling out his card, only for Seungmin to grab it from his hands. 

“No way, let me pay this time.” Seungmin said. Hyunjin pouted at that. _You can’t pay for your own promposal drink!_ he was practically screaming in his head, except he couldn’t tell Seungmin this. 

“Oh come on, let me pay for our drinks-” 

“Seriously Hyunjin, _I work here_ I can get a discount-”

“How about I make the drinks for free for you guys so you,” Nayeon pointed to Seungmin, “can finish cleaning, and you,” she pointed at Hyunjin, “can stop holding up my line and go be dramatic somewhere else.” Jumping up, Hyunjin turned to see Chan with his friend Bambam standing behind him, both trying their best to hide the giggles erupting on their face. 

Flushing red in embarrassment, Hyunjin dragged himself off to the booth directly across from the counter, his eyes going between Nayeon and her growing smirk that only unnerved Hyunjin even more, and Seungmin cleaning at the front door - who seemed to be watching Nayeon with just as much apprehension. _I’ll have to ask what’s up with that,_ Hyunjin surmised. 

“Smoothie and hot chocolate for the pining loser in the corner!” Blushing even more, Hyunjin darted to the counter, glowering at Nayeon.

“Seriously?” Nayeon merely chuckled. Staring straight in the eye at Hyunjin, he watched as Nayeon deliberately slid a cup sleeve onto the hot chocolate, right over Hyunjin’s words. “ _Seriously?_ ”

“Can’t let my best worker get burned,” Hyunjin rolled his eyes and grabbed both drinks, walking back to his booth. He slipped the cup sleeve off just as Seungmin clocked out and joined him, leaving it on the side. Obviously Seungmin would need to use it given how hot the drink was, but Hyunjin just needed him to see the damn question first! 

“Who seriously orders hot chocolate at this time, it’s so hot out,” Trying his best to bring Seungmin’s attention to his drink, Hyunjin took a sip of his smoothie while watching Seungmin intensely, hoping to subconsciously spur Seungmin to take a drink of his (and hopefully see the message on the side). 

“Listen, hot chocolate is perfect for any time of the year.” Seungmin grinned, not even taking a look at the cup in front of him. “Besides, you have smoothies even in the winter,” he pointed at the drink in Hyunjin’s hand. “So you’re one to talk.” 

Hyunjin chuckled quietly at that, but still nervously watched Seungmin’s face and hand, trying to send some sort of telepathic message to Seungmin to _just look down at his cup_. The black lettering seemed to be mocking Hyunjin, especially considering that Seungmin seemed to have more interest in Hyunjin’s smoothie instead of his own hot chocolate, with how intensely his eyes were darting between Hyunjin’s face and his drink. 

Hyunjin took another sip, but Seungmin still didn’t take a hint, his hot chocolate firmly down on the table. Gulping, Hyunjin nodded towards the drink, asking, “You’re not gonna… gonna drink that?”

“Oh,” Seungmin jolted. “Well you are kind of right, it's too hot, need to wait for it to cool down I guess.” Finally he took a glance down at the cup, before seeing the sleeve next to it, and - to Hyunjin’s complete annoyance - slipped it on his drink before finally taking a sip. 

Now, Hyunjin liked to think he was a typically easy going guy, especially when it came to Seungmin. It was hard for anyone to get mad or annoyed at Seungmin in general, with his careful personality and puppy-like smile. Hyunjin especially wasn’t immune, considering on top of the general pleasant aura Seungmin always had, Hyunjin was pretty much in love with him as well. 

But there was only so much Hyunjin could take, and the fact that his last ditch attempt at a special promposal for Seungmin had failed just as easily as the last four was the last straw. 

He slammed his hands down on the table and stood. Seungmin jerked back in fright, eyes whipping up nervously at Hyunjin, who huffed in frustration.

“Seungmin. Do you just not want to go to prom with me?” 

Silence. Seungmin blinked in shock.

“Wha- what do you mean-”

“ _What I mean_ is that this past week you haven’t seen _any_ of my promposals and I’m starting to think you just don’t want to go… with me.” 

Silence again. Realizing exactly how loud his outburst was, he looked sheepishly around before sitting quietly down and taking an embarrassed peek at Seungmin, who was still staring back dumbfoundedly, his eyes darting from Hyunjin down to their drinks, as if unsure what to say or do. 

_Now you really did it Hyunjin, you fucked up so bad there’s no way Seungmin is going to say yes to going to prom with you-_

Suddenly, Seungmin grabbed onto Hyunjin’s smoothie. Hyunjin watched in horror as he popped the lid off and downed it all ( _a large!! Of all things!_ ) in one gulp, before pointing it in Hyunjin’s direction. 

“What-”

“Just. Look inside.” Confused, he peeks into the now empty cup. At first, he isn’t sure what Seungmin was on, because it was just an empty cup with small clumps of smoothie still left on the bottom, just barely covering a smattering of black letters which said- 

“Will… you go to prom with me.” 

Once again, silence. Without even looking towards the counter, Hyunjin swore that Nayeon was laughing at him. 

“Seungmin how the fuck am I supposed to see that-”

“Well I don’t know man, I was kind of at my wits end because _you_ didn’t see any of the other promposals I made for you-” Now it was Seungmin’s turn to ramble, as he threw his hands up and rolled his eyes in frustration. 

“That basketball game we had last Friday? Felix didn’t show up because we rigged the banner system to release a banner that said PROM? once you scored five points against me.” Hyunjin choked in shock at that. 

“Wait- that’s the same reason Jisung didn’t come, he rigged the scoreboard so that when you scored five points against _me_ it would ask you to prom.” Seungmin rolled his eyes again, and Hyunjin could hear him muttering about how he was _crazy to think I’d be able to even score one point, much less five._ He sighed right afterward, before continuing:

“Well, remember that day you showed up early to school, and ran into Felix and Jeongin? The plan was for Jeongin-” Hyunjin could see Seungmin wince, “to sit in Felix’s locker next to yours, so he could start this portable CD player that I had recorded a song for you on. Originally, we were going to do it right before lunch, but when Felix saw you come to school early, we decided to change it to right before first period instead.” Hyunjin ahhed, remembering the CD player that Felix had been holding that morning, before jolting in realization that-

“Y-you recorded a s-song for me??” Seungmin glared back. 

“Yeah, but you won’t get to ever listen to it, because you didn’t even _fucking show up to your locker that morning._ ”

“Shit, I didn't go to my locker that morning because I had put balloons in… what was supposed to be your locker but was Yeji’s.” This time, it was Seungmin’s turn to gasp in realization. 

“No wonder why she was so disgusted when she saw the balloons.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Poor Jeongin though… Felix had to rush back to let him know you weren't coming.” Hyunjin rubbed his neck awkwardly, feeling sorry suddenly. 

“I feel like we all need to collectively get him a present for all the shit we make him go through.” Seungmin hummed in agreement. 

“The morning…” Hyunjin started again. Seungmin raised his head, looking quizzingly over. “Remember that morning when we were all going to hang out at the park? Well, the night before, Jisung and I spray painted and mowed your lawn so that it would say PROM when you woke up and looked outside your window.” 

“Oh… that’s why my mom was so angry at my dad that morning for mowing! He swore we had some weird thing growing on it, because it was… so… b...lue…” Seungmin chuckled incredulously. “Well, probably at the exact same time you and Jisung were destroying my family’s lawn, me and Changbin were destroying his car. We like, duct taped this message asking you to prom on his back hood, but they all flew off when we were driving over.” He paused, as if suddenly remembering another moment. 

“Let me guess, the weird shaped donuts this morning?” 

“Spelled out prom. And the cookies?” 

“I mean, I _did_ tell you that it was a puzzle, but you just ate it- and mind you - you ate the cookie with _prom_ on it, which was probably the most important piece of them all.”

Hyunjin huffed in disbelief, as both him and Seungmin stared at each other in silence, completely in shock at the past week’s events that occurred. Even in the wildest of his dreams, Hyunjin would have never guessed that while he was miserably failing at asking Seungmin to prom, on the other side was Seungmin desperately trying to plan a promposal for Hyunjin that would actually work. 

_Wait._

“You want to go to prom with me.” he choked, as the sudden realization came to him. Seungmin glared back. 

“No shit, who would have thought, dumbass.” This time it was Hyunjin who was rolling his eyes, before the both of them burst out in incredulous laughter.

“Last night...” Seungmin finally calmed down, letting one last breathy chuckle out. “Last night I was so worried that my cookie plan wasn’t going to work, and that I was going to end up not going to prom with you but instead would be sitting at home crying over a tub of ice cream alone. Like, Felix kept telling me you would rather eat all the eggplants in the world then let me do that, but honestly, I was… I really felt like the fact that I failed four times before meant you didn’t want to go to prom with me-”

“What do you mean, you know that, like, I'm in love with you and would do anything for you.” Hyunjin hadn’t meant to cut in like that, but now that it was out, he didn’t want to take it back. 

Seungmin smiled shyly at that, his eyes trained on the table and pointedly ignoring Hyunjin’s gaze. “Well yeah, I mean, I had hoped, but also, I wasn't so sure since we never…” The tone of his voice changes, going softer so that Hyunjin had to strain to hear the end, “...never… never really ever said it… or anything.”

Seungmin was still smiling, but Hyunjin could see his trembling eyes, hear the hint of nervousness that his confession had. Feeling a wave of bravery come over him, he took Seungmin’s shaking hands into his own, forcing his eyes onto Hyunjin’s own. 

“Well,” he started, hoping that Seungmin couldn’t hear the shakiness in his own voice. “Take this… take this as us talking about it now.” 

He paused, gauging Seungmin’s reaction. The way Seungmin’s eyes lit up at the faux confidence Hyunjin had only boosted his morale, and he continued:

“Seungmin, the past four years we’ve known each other has only really made my feelings for you grow from just friendship to something way more. From all our study dates, all our exploring for the best photography spots, to all the crazy things we’ve done together - both with the rest or on our own… well, I just keep finding myself falling more and more for you.”

“Ever… ever since that night at Felix’s summer party right before Junior year, well, I-I’ve been toying with the idea of actually telling you how I felt. Before then, as much as my feelings for you were growing, I was always afraid of saying anything - afraid that by confessing I’d ruin what we had. Don’t tell me it was a stupid thought-” Hyunjin was quick to add, seeing Seungmin open his mouth to retort. “Because, well, I’ll admit I was oblivious and had no idea that you felt the same about me _at all._ ”

“But then… that night, when we were just hanging out in Felix’s treehouse… the conversation we had, how close we were…” Hyunjin blushed at the thought, and could see Seungmin reminiscing as well from the red blossoming on his own cheeks. “Well, that was the first night I really thought that… thought that you might feel something more for me too.”

“If you really didn’t get a hint after that night, I would have really questioned my feelings from someone as dumb as you,” Seungmin chuckled at Hyunjin’s pout, before taking the other’s hand in his. Hyunjin momentarily stalled at the action, before smiling softly and continuing. 

“I think… well, even if we never really talked about it, just the fact that since then we’ve gotten so much closer… that we started really making plans as a duo rather than separately… the whole fact that we want to room together when we go to university together… I feel like it was really a culmination of moments that made me ready to officially ask you out, to officially become something more than the whole ‘are-we-are-we-not” thing we had going on.” 

“And well, it may have taken me a whole year after to actually do something about it, but from that night, I knew that I would someday be having this conversation with you, asking you to be ‘something more’ than just best friends who were secretly in love with each other. And even if it took a year, I knew for a fact that it would happen, because all these years, I’ve just been growing more and more in love with you.”

Seungmin had gone quiet, the soft rubs on Hyunjin’s fingers stilled, but Hyunjin could see the elation in his eyes at Hyunjin’s voice.

“Well then, Seungmin,” he could feel a smile tugging on his lips, see the same on Seungmin’s own. “Will you- wait.” Seungmin's smile dropped slightly. 

“Umm… do… should you ask me to prom, or maybe should I ask you-”

“Hyunjin. Will you go to prom with me?” 

Hyunjin blinked. Seungmin was smiling again. 

“Oh. Well. Fuck yeah.”

“Finally you oblivious fu-!” Hyunjin could see Bambam dragging Chan out of the store, but a part of him did agree with the other, considering: 

“We really did spend the entire week failing to ask each other to prom, only to get it done over smoothies and hot chocolate.”

Seungmin snorted, rolling his eyes, but Hyunjin could see the smile on Seungmin’s face growing wider, and felt his own threatening his cheeks.

  
  
  
  
  
  


☕🥤☕

  
  
  
  
  


Murphy’s law states that “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” In both Seungmin’s and Hyunjin’s case, if they truly believed in that, the first disastrous attempt at asking each other would have been it - ending after Hyunjin’s unceremonious tumble into the basketball court bleachers. 

But the both of them also lived in a world where their feelings for each other were stronger than any epigram. They lived in a world where Seungmin would record a song for Hyunjin hoping that his voice could convey his feelings for the other. They lived in a world where Hyunjin would spend hours mowing Seungmin’s lawn to send him a message. They lived in a world where the two would actually step foot in the kitchen despite their friends' protest, intent on making something special for the other. 

And well, maybe Hyunjin didn’t want to live in a world where everything went his way on the first try. Because nothing that was worthwhile ever came easy, and in Hyunjin’s case, even if it took more than a thousand tries to ask Seungmin out… 

… the smiling face and warm hands in his were definitely worth it.

  
  
  
  
  
  


❤️❤️❤️

**Author's Note:**

> Alternative summary: Five times Hyunjin tried to ask Seungmin to prom, and the one time Seungmin actually asked him instead. 
> 
> Some fun facts about this fic: 
> 
> \- This was my original idea for the big bang except about halfway through it didn’t look like it would be 15000+ so I put it on hold and restarted with the other one instead! 
> 
> \- This is also actually a mashup of this big promposal series I had planned featuring multiple groups and the theme of promposals, where the only one that actually made it out alive was this [seventeen one.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22745113) Regardless, I still had all these cool promposal ideas from the series that I reused in both the Minho/Jisung version and this one. If you did happen to read the seventeen version, you might have realized they share a lot of the same ideas… there's really only so many ways you can creatively ask someone out to prom...


End file.
